Assembling die



A. DRUCKER ET AL ASSEMBLING DIE Oct. 2, 1934.

Filed April 3, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ABRAHAM DRUG/(ER JUJEPH GLUE/(MAN /.5/DORE GURAL /V/K IN VENT 0R5 B ATTORNEY 1934- A. DRUCKER ET AL 5,

AS SEMBLING DIE Filed April 3, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ABRAHAM DRUG/(ER JUJEPH ELUCKMA/V lJ/DURE GURAL/V/K H 5 INVENTOR A TI'ORNE Y Patented Got. 2, 1934 1,975,139. PATENT ol-"rice UNITED STATES" ASSEMBLING DIE I Abraham Drucker, Joseph Gluckman, and Isidore Guralnik, New York,

N. Y.; said Gliickman and said Gui'alnik assignors to said'Drucker Application April 3, 1934, serialnmlzisnio 7 Claims.

. member for the purpose oflocking the said memher in position when receiving the uppershell and covering material of the button; the said latch being adapted to release the upper die member when the final operation of assembling the two shells of the button was to be performed. This outer latch had a tendency to bind and it was necessary to constantly hammer against the latch to pry it apart from the central spindle into free operating condition. The jamming and hammering caused damage to the mechanism and injury to the fingers of the operator.

An object of this invention is to provide improved locking means to take the place of the said latch, the said locking. means being 'positioned internally of the upper die member and comprising a radially. movable ball adapted to engage a peripheral groove in the center spindle and a vertically slidable spring-pressed pin hav ing an upper circular notch adapted for engagement with said ball when the ball is seated in the peripheral groove; a lower ciroularnotch in the said pin being providedfor receiving the ball when it is out of contact with the peripheral groove, the said locking mechanism serving the same purpose as the above mentioned latch but in a much more efficient manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide auxiliary locking means to prevent accidental disengagement of the working parts of the. upper die member. 1

With the above and other objects in view, th e invention will be hereinafter moreparticularly described, and the combination and arrangement of parts Will be shown in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims which form part of this specification.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, inwhichr p Figure lis a vertical sectional viewillustrating the initial step, with the upper shelland covering material pushed into the upperv half of the dieand the upper half of thebutton shaped to its final form. V V I Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the second step, with the lower shell and covering material pushed into. an intermediate re.-

versible die member and the lower halfof the button shaped to its final form.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the method of assembling thetwo halves of the button with each other. r

Fig. 4 is an exterior view of the dies in the assembling position, shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a set of combination dies and a modified form of locking'means. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a center plunger. 7

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention,

thenumeral 1O indicates'a suitable base having an aperture 11, adapted to receive the lower end of a vertically disposed flanged spindle 12.- The flanged spindle 12 may be fixed in position by a screw 13. The lower die member lfi-lSSlldflblY mounted for vertical movement on the spindle 12. The spindle is'provided' with a longitudinal 'keyway 15 adapted to receive the end'of a screw "16 threaded into the reduced lower portion 17 of the lower die member 14.

A coil spring 18 serves to raise the die member 14, and the screw 16 serves tolimit the upward movement of the die member 14 under the action of the spring. The upper end of the die member 14 is provided with a central recess 19, an annular portion 20, and a seating face 21.

Thegupper die member 22 is slidably mounted for vertical-movement on a spindle 23 having a concave lower end 24 adapted to contactwith the convex upper end 25 of the spindle 12. The upper portion 26 of the spindle '23 may be designed to be fastened by means of a screw 27 to a reciprocable member 28 of a press (not shown) and be. operated by hand or by a foot treadle.

The spindle 23 is provided with -a peripheral groove or reduced portion 29 having a beveled upper portion 30 and a curved lower portion 31 terminating in a sharp corner 32. A ball 33'inserted through an aperture 34 in the upper die member 22 is designed to engage the said peripheral groove. A pin 35 is slidably mounted in an aperture 36 in the upper die member 22 and is pro vided with an upper circular notch' 3'1 designed for engagement with the ball when the ball is seated in the peripheral groove 29. -'Ihe slid able pin 35 is also provided with a circular notch 38 positioned below the notch 37. 'The notch 38 is designedto receive the ball'33 when it is out of contact with the peripheral groove '29-. A coil spring'39 is positioned in theaperture 36 and contacts with'the upper surface-of the slid able pin 35 and serves to keep the ball in forced engagement with the peripheral groove 29. --The slidable pin 35 projects out from the aperture'36 below the face 40 of the upper die member 22.

As shown in Figure '1, the slidablepin 35 is free to enter the annular portion 20 without coming in I contact with the lower face 41 of the said annular portion. The upper die member 22 depends from the spindle 23 in locked relation therewith and permits the upper shell 42 and the covering material 43 of the button to be pushed into the upper die member 22.

As shown in Figure 1, a detent 99 has been placed in the aperture 34 of the upper die member 22 and is pressed laterally against the spindle 23 by a spring 100. The detent 99 is designed to engage and interlock with the lower portion of the groove 29 when the upper die member 22 is'in its lower position on said spindle. It is to be noted that the detent or locking means 99 is carried by the upper die member 22 and that the spindle 23 furnishes engaging means for interlocking with the said detent.

As shown in Figure 2, a reversible die member 44 is provided to operate in conjunction with and intermediate of the upper and lower die members.

. The reversible die member 44 is provided with an axial bore 45 terminating at one end in a beveled or flared portion 46, an annular portion 4'7, a seating face 48, and an exterior flange 49. A rod of smaller diameter than the axial bore 45 is slidably mounted in the reversible die member 44. A keyway 51 is provided in the rod50 and a screw 52 threaded in the die member 44 and in engagement with said keyway serves to limit the sliding movement of the rod in each direction. The rod 50 is provided with a concave face 53 at one end designed to receive the lower shell 42 of the assembled button 54 shown in Figure 3. The other end of the rod 50 is provided with a collar 55 and aconcave face 56. The collar 55 serves as an abutment in the reversible die member 44 in the assembling position shown in Figure 3.

The two shells of the button with the covering materials are assembled in three operations in the following manner by means of the above described dies. As shown in Figure 1, the lower shell 42 of the button 54 is placed upon the convex upper end 25 of the spindle 12 and the covering material 43 "for the lower shell is placed on the lower face 41 of the lower die member 14. The upper die member 22 is then lowered together with the lower die member 14 against the action of the spring 18 until the lower shell 42 and covering material 43 are forced upwardly into the bore 5'7 of the upper die member 22.

As shown in Figure 2, the upper shell 58 of the button 54 is placed upon the convex upper end 25 of the spindle 12 and the covering material 59 for the upper shell is placed on the lower face 41 of the lower die member 14. The reversible die member 44 and the upper die member 22 are then lowered together with the lower die member 14 against the action of the spring 18 until the upper shell 58 and covering material 59 are forced upwardly into the bore 45 of the reversible die member 44.

The reversible die member 44 is then reversed as shown in Figure 3 and the upper die member 22 lowered until the projecting beveled annular portion 47. of the member 44 strikes the vertically movable locking member 35, forcing it up and releasing the radially movable locking member 33. The locking members are thus automatically released and permitthe upper die member 22 to move from its locked position shown in Figures 1 and 2 into contact with the flange 60 of the movable spindle 23, as shown in Figure 3, when the two halves of the button 54 are assembled with each other.

Figure 4 shows an exterior View of the dies in the assembling position assumed in Figure 3. The absence of any external latch members is readily noticeable. it will be noted that the locking members 33 and 35 are entirely housed and concealed in the upper die member 22, and there is no chance for jamming the mechanism and injuring the fingers of the operator.

Figure 5 shows a set of combination dies 61 adapted for assembling buttons or buckles, etc., having a central aperture. The set of dies 61 are provided with a modified embodiment of our improved locking means. The set of dies 61 comprises a lower die member 62 slidably mounted on a fixed spindle 63, a reversible die member 64, and an upper die member 65 slidably mounted on a movable spindle 66. The spindle 66 is provided with a radial cylindrical aperture 6'7. The upper die member 65 is provided with a radial cylindrical aperture 68 of the same diameter as the aperture 67. A cylindrical pin 69 has been inserted in the aperture 68 and a spring '70 positioned in the aperture 68 contacts with the pin 69 and serves to 5 keep said pin resiliently pressed in a radial direction. The pin 69 is provided with an aperture '71 for the passage therethrough of a pin '72. The pin '72 is slidably mounted in an aperture '73 in the upper die member 65 and a compression spring '74 positioned in the upper portion of the aperture '73 contacts with the upper surface of the slidable pin '72 so as to keep the pin resiliently pressed in a longitudinal direction. The pin '72 is provided with reduced portions '75 forming a head '76 designed for engagement with the upper surface of the pin 69. The lower ends of the reduced portions '75 are provided with downwardly beveled portions '77.

In the position shown in Figure 5, the pin '72 has been pushed up against the'spring '74 by coming in contact with the flat surface '78 of the die member 64. The beveled portion 7'7 in its upward movement actuated the cylindrical pin 69 to the left and out of locking position from the aperture 6'7. The movable spindle 66 is thus free to move down till the flange 79 comes into contact with the upper die member 65. A pin 80 has been provided in the upper die member 65 and in sliding engagement in a slot 81 in the spindle 66 and serves to prevent accidental disengagement of the upper di member 65 from its spindle 66'. I

Combination assembling dies must be constructed with the upper and lower die members in longitudinal alignment and non-rotatable with the respective spindles. We accordingly prefer to make the said spindles of rectangular cross-section corresponding to the outer perimeter of the shells being assembled so as to prevent rotation of the die members on their respective spindles. The dies must be adapted to assemble shells covered with material of diiferent thickness or weight. If the bore 82 in the reversible die member 64 is made large enough to admit a thick covering material,

when a light covering material is used, the weight of the center plunger 83 causes the inserted shell and covering material tofall out from said member. We have accordinglyfound it necessaryto provide frictional means for preventing the shell and covering material from being displaced from operating position in the reversible die member;

As shown in Figure 6, the center plunger '83 is provided with a friction plate 84, having a long slot 85 which terminates in an aperture 86. The slot 85 and aperture 86 extend through the thickness of the plate 84. It is thus possible to spread apart the side walls 87, 88, defining the slot and to cause a frictional pressure to be exerted against the inner circumferential surface defining the bore 82 in the reversible die member 64. It is also posits sible to repeatedly spread apart the side walls defining the slot as the wear progresses.

An aperture 89 has been provided in the lower die member 62 for receiving the downwardly projecting portion of the slidable pin '72 in the first operation corresponding to Figure 1, and a through aperture 90 has been provided in the friction plate 64 for receiving the downwardly projecting portion of said pin in the second operation, corresponding to Figure 2.

A pin 91 projecting from the upper die member and pins 92, 93, projecting from the reversible die member 64, are designed for engagement with an opening 94 in the lower die member 62 and serve to aline the die members 62, 64 and 65 in non-rotatable relation.

A screw 95 in the die member 62 and in engagement in a slot 96 in the fixed spindle 63 limits the axial movements of the lower die member 62 on its spindle 63. A screw 97 in the reversible die member 64 and in engagement with a slot 98 in the center plunger 83 serves to retain the center plunger in the reversible die member 64.

While we have shown and described two embodiments of our invention which have given good service in practice, it is possible to make other modifications within the scope of the appended claims. It is possible to utilize our improvements for button assembling dies used for assembling buttons that are covered with cloth on both sides or only on one side or which are not covered, and for other purposes such as for assembling buckles, etc.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In button assembling dies of the class described, comprising upper and lower die members and a reversible intermediate member, a vertically movable spindle upon which said upper die member is slidably mounted, means limiting the axial movement of the upper die member on its spindle, means for locking the upper die member on its spindle when said upper and lower die members are brought together for projecting the upper shell of the button into the upper die member, said locking means comprising a vertically slidable springpressed pin having an upper circular notch for engagement with a ball mounted in a peripheral groove in the spindle of the upper die member, said pin having a lower circular notch extending further radially outwardly than the upper notch for receiving said ball when out of contact with said peripheral groove and means for preventing accidental disengagement of said locking means from said upper die member.

2. In assembling dies of the class described, comprising upper, lower and intermediate die members, a vertically movable spindle upon which an upper die member is slidably mounted for movement into upper and lower operating positions, means for locking said upper die member on its spindle in said lower position, said locking means comprising a vertically slidable and spring pressed pin having a reduced cross-sectional portion, and a radially movable locking member, said radially movable member being adapted for locking engagement with said reduced portion in said vertically slidable pin, and means for preventing accidental disengagement of said die members.

3. In assembling dies of the class described, comprising upper, lower and intermediate die members, a vertically movable spindle upon which an upper die member is slidably mounted for movement into upper and lower operating positions, means for locking said upper die member on its spindle in said lower position, said locking means comprising a longitudinally slidable member and a laterally movable locking member, said laterally movable member being adapted for locking engagement with said longitudinally slidable member, and means for preventing disengagement of said die members.

4. In assembling dies of the class described, a vertically movable spindle upon which an upper die member is slidably mounted for movement into upper and lower operating positions, means for locking said upper die member on its spindle in said lower position, said locking means comprising a longitudinally slidable locking member and a laterally movable locking member, said laterally movable locking member being adapted for locking engagement with said longitudinally slidable locking member, said locking members being housed inside said upper die member.

5. In assembling dies of the class described, a spindle upon which an upper die member is rotatably and slidably mounted for movement into upper and lower operating positions, means for locking said upper die member on its spindle in said lower position, said locking means comprising a longitudinally slidable locking member and a laterally movable locking member, said laterally movable locking member being adapted for locking engagement with said longitudinally slidable locking member for locking said upper die member on said spindle in any rotatable position thereon, said locking members being housed inside said upper die member.

6. In assembling dies of the class described, upper and lower die members, a fixed spindle upon which the lower die member is mounted for vertical movement, spring means yieldingly sustaining the lower die member, a vertically movable spindle upon which the upper die member is slidably mounted for movement into upper and lower operating positions, means limiting the axial movements of said die members relative to the respective spindles, locking means in said upper die member for preventing movement of said member on its spindle in said lower position, a reversible die member positioned between the upper and lower die members in different operating positions, said reversible die member having a longitudinal bore for reciprocating movement therein of a center plunger, and frictional means for retaining said center plunger in operating position in said reversible die member.

7. In assembling dies of the class described, comprising upper, lower and intermediate die members, a vertically movable spindle upon which said upper die member is slidably mounted for movement into upper and lower operating positions, means for locking said upper die mem ber on its spindle in said lower position, said locking means comprising a movable spring pressed member and a reduced portion on said spindle and detent means movable relative to said upper die member for interlocking with said reduced portion when said upper die member is in said lower position, said intermediate and said lower die members respectively having one or" its faces formed to permit coaction with said upper die member when said locking means is in locked position.

ABRAHAM DRUCKER. JOSEPH GLUCKMAN. ISIDORE GURALNIK. 

